Leavenworth man guilty in rape of 11-year-old

A Leavenworth man has been found guilty of rape stemming from the sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl.

John Richmeier

A Leavenworth man has been found guilty of rape stemming from the sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl.

Jurors found Kevin Skaggs guilty of three counts of rape involving sex with a child younger than 14, one count of aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of promoting obscenity to minors, according to Deborah Owens, spokeswoman for the Leavenworth County attorney’s office.

Skaggs was found innocent of a second aggravated criminal sodomy charge.

The verdict came at about 10:30 p.m. June 25, Owens said.

This was about five hours after Judge Frederick Stewart asked jurors to begin their deliberations.

Skaggs, 29, reportedly sexually molested an 11-year-old girl in late 2004 and early 2005. The victim was the daughter of a friend. The girl and her sister were sometimes left in the care of Skaggs.

Skaggs showed the victim child pornography in order to groom her for a sexual relationship, according to Deputy County Attorney Roger Marrs.

Skaggs, who had been free on bond during the trial, was taken into custody after the verdict, Owens said.

A hearing for post-trial motions has been scheduled for July 11. A date for Skaggs’ sentencing may be set at that time.

Before the verdict was reached Monday, Marrs said the possible maximum sentence in the case was about 27 years.

The verdict followed a six-day trial that began with jury selection June 18. Because of the anticipated length of the trial, two alternate jurors also sat through the presentation of the evidence.